She insulated her Christchurch council flat - now she says she'll be asked to remove it when she goes

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Christchurch City Council said it couldn't be done - so this social housing tenant took matters into her own hands.

She insulated her Christchurch City Council flat after she was told it could not be done – now she says she will be asked to agree to remove it when she moves on.

Lynda McKenzie, 67, on Tuesday said she had been contacted by a property manager from the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust – the tenancy manager for council-owned properties – ahead of a visit on Thursday.

'They said that they want to come through, they're going to document all of the changes [I've made] and they wanted to speak to me,' McKenzie said.

'They want me to sign an agreement that means I will restore the unit to the way it was when I arrived.'

When the council said Lynda McKenzie's flat could not be insulated, she did it herself. Now, she says, her landlord wants her to sign a form agreeing to restore the flat to its original state when she moves out.

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McKenzie was told about two years ago it was not possible to insulate the ceiling of her council flat in Pickering Courts, St Albans.

So she went ahead and had it insulated herself.

McKenzie said her property manager was aware of all of the changes she'd made while living in her flat over the past 10 years.

Ceiling and underfloor insulation has been a legal requirement in social housing since July 2016. All rental properties will require floor and ceiling insulation from July 1 next year.

Earlier this week, council head of facilities, property and planning Angus Smith said the complex's sloping roofs had exposed rafters and no space for insulation.

The council was not breaching rental property standards as legislation allowed for exemptions in properties 'not reasonably practicable to insulate without substantial building work'.

McKenzie said it took her insulation contractor about 10 minutes to cut the hole in her ceiling.

Stuff first published news of McKenzie's efforts on Monday. It contacted the council and Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (OCHT) last week – and McKenzie subsequently got a call from her tenancy manager to plan a visit on Thursday.

A council spokeswoman said there were no plans to visit any of McKenzie's neighbours when they look at her insulation on Thursday.

McKenzie said the visit would be to document the changes she'd made and that she would be asked to sign an agreement to restore the unit back to what it was when she arrived.

Her improvements did not stop at insulation. Over about a decade in the flat, she had double-glazed windows installed, completed bathroom renovations and redecorated, she said.

'So to put it back the way it was is impossible, stupid and ludicrous.'

McKenzie said the flat was regularly inspected by her tenancy manager. She said OCHT senior housing advisor Bob Hardie was also aware of the earlier work.

Contacted on Tuesday, Hardie confirmed he had known McKenzie for about five years, both in his time with OCHT and, before that, with the council.

'I was unaware of the double glazing. Lynda may have mentioned it to me but I don't recall this happening,' he said.

It took a contractor 10 minutes to cut a hole in McKenzie's ceiling to install the insulation, she said.

Stuff sought confirmation from OCHT chief executive Cate Kearney as to whether McKenzie was asked to agree to restore the unit.

In an email, Kearney said McKenzie was told of 'the normal process' for tenant requests for property alterations 'where the tenant wish[es] to do the work themselves'.

'The process is that a request in writing is required – specific to the proposed work – that the work would be carried out by a professional and that the tenant would be required, in some instances, to return the property to its original condition at the end of a tenancy,' Kearney said.

'The tenancy manager advised Lynda that she would require her to sign a letter acknowledging that work had been done and the ongoing maintenance would be the responsibility of the tenant.'

Neither Hardie nor Kearney responded to a follow-up email asking whether McKenzie had been asked to sign a form specifically agreeing to restore the unit.

Contacted by phone, Kearney was unable to respond before deadline.

A council spokeswoman confirmed staff would visit McKenzie's flat on Thursday to assess the insulation. There were no confirmed plans to visit any of the other units.

She said it would be 'inappropriate' for staff members to say whether McKenzie's insulation could lead to similar work in other units before staff had visited the flat.